The Dark Ages

Vampire in 1197

Still very much in the planning stages. If anyone has a character idea, feel free to post it. Planning on doing a night of character building with everyone in attendance so that the characters won’t be a complete hodge-podge of unrelated nonsense. Don’t let that stop you from making something off the wall though.

Some advice for character concepts:

• Start with a concept for a mortal, ordinary human rather than a clan. It’s better to imagine a peasant farmer, a noble lord, a corrupt clergyman or whatever and then imagine the circumstances of his or her embrace afterward. A character is defined far more by personality than by clan.

• Don’t pigeonhole yourself. People in 1197 might have very different social constraints, but they’re not incapable of versatility. Just because your character is a French monk doesn’t mean his experiences are limited to a French monastery.

• Future anachronisms are strongly discouraged. If you want to be a Samurai who wound up in England, you’re out of luck. That being said, backwards anachronisms are not only okay, they are encouraged. Remember that vampires are functionally immortal. While an extremely old vampire might require some creative storytelling to explain the relatively low power level of (perhaps you’ve been in torpor for 900 years), that’s no reason not to represent a time period before the 12th century.

• Here is a list of available clans, with a very brief description of each (those of you unfamiliar with Vampire may want to read up on these clans on the World of Darkness wiki – just keep in mind that the division between player knowledge and character knowledge will be strictly enforced – http://wiki.white-wolf.com/worldofdarkness/index.php?title=Dark_Ages:_Vampire )

The High Clans

Brujah – Warrior-philosophers. Not the leather-clad rebels that they become in modern World of Darkness.
Cappadocian – Necromancers and scholars.
Lasombra – Shadowy power brokers who are deeply involved with the Church and with Iberia (modern Spain)
Toreador – Artists and critics. Very powerful in France and also in the upper echelons of the Church.
Tzimisce – Eastern European lords, deeply tied to their homeland and capable of producing nightmarish creations.
Ventrue – Western European lords, deeply committed to the feudal system.

The Low Clans

Assamite – Middle Eastern assassins and diablerists. Feared, respected and hired by just about everyone in Europe.
Gangrel – Wild barbarians and other people of the untamed lands, with a deep connection to animals.
Malkavians – Madmen and prophets, who spread their madness and prophecy equally in all parts of Europe.
Nosferatu – Horribly disfigured monsters who tend to dwell in the shadows and ruins.
Ravnos – Outsiders, charlatans and wanderers. They have strong connections to India – far further East than any other clan dares to travel.
Setites – Egyptian manipulators and priests to their dark god – the epitome of “anything for a price”.
Tremere – Known as Usurpers, the youngest clan by a measure of millenia. The Tremere have existed as a clan for less than 200 years. Magicians beyond the comprehension of most other vampires, and locked in a brutal war with the Tzimisce.

Bloodlines (not true clans, but offshoots an remnants)

Anda – An offshoot of Gangrel who represent the first waves of what will eventually become the Mongol horde.
Baali – Infernalists. Imagine the most horrifying acts that a human might be capable of. The Baali are far worse.
Laibon – African vampires. There are many subdivions, with sub-saharan offshoots of virtually every other clan represented. Incredibly rare in continental Europe.
Lamia – Servants and confidants of the Cappadocians, devoted to Lilith.
Lhiannan – Druids and witches and other followers of the old pagan beliefs. Largely centered in Britain and France.
Salubri – Once a High Clan, now hunted almost to extinction by the Tremere who stole their blood. Healers and eternal enemies of the Baali. The Tremere propaganda has worked well and the Salubri are feared by most Vampires.
Caitiff – Clanless vampires. Although such things are relatively common in modern days, it is quite rare for a clanless vampire to survive in the Dark Ages.